Throughout this school year, the board has had to grapple with hundreds of millions of dollars in reduced funding from the state. This dire situation has forced board members into making agonizing decisions about cuts in programs and personnel. This spring, we have seen teachers literally camped out in front of the LAUSD downtown headquarters in protest. Sometimes I think I should do the same in front of the Governor ' s office.

   Not only are the School Board, the Superintendent, and administrators trying their best to make sense of the ever- changing state funding projections, but they are also charged with the task of explaining it all to our constituents. LAUSD tries to communicate with plain language in such a volatile situation.        
    Still, what can get lost in the high level volleying over classroom size, Reduction in Force notices, and stimulus funds is what potential and actual cutbacks mean to the group most directly impacted:  Students.  How are they coping with the prospect of losing their favorite teacher or drastic reductions in a popular program?  We need to hear their voices.        
   Rather than ask students to answer these questions in writing, we proposed a more LA-friendly (and age-appropriate) alternative -- ­ video. This past May, I sponsored a contest for students in elementary, middle, and high schools from my board district to write, produce, and direct one-minute videos expressing what the budget cuts mean for their school.         
    We received 27 entries from all grade levels, from schools across the Valley. The results not only speak to the filmmaking talents of LAUSD students, but their strong emotions toward the fate of their schools.
   A group of five judges from entertainment-related backgrounds served as judges to determine the best videos by age category; we left it up to everyone else to vote for the most popular video on my website. With a total of 130,000 out of 250,000 votes cast, Loren Simons, a sophomore from El Camino Real High School, was the Grand Prize winner. His school received $5000, along with Chivas USA Pro Soccer Game tickets for all 3500 students who attend El Camino. 
    The judges had a tough decision.  There were a number of very clever entries, and others that had a profound emotional impact on the viewer.
    Bassett Elementary, which won in its category, made a comedic claymation skit complete with overcrowded classrooms, bare supply closets and no sports equipment to get its point across. The judges’ favorite middle school entry, from Millikan, continued the theme by depicting the loss of computers, no costumes in the drama department and   a  nightmare scenario where students filled in as cafeteria workers because of staff reductions.
   But the judges '  high school winner, an entry from Monroe, relied heavily on visuals to showcase the bond between a struggling student and his favorite teacher.  This video brought a tear to the eye of most who have viewed it.

    These students put a human face on the budget crisis. In the midst of meetings, closed door discussions, and public spectacles we forget that, at the end of the day, the kids always reap the consequences of our short - sightedness.  Now it is up to us to take these poignant images and use them to share our struggle with the state and federal officials who fund public education.